Jazz Bastard Podcast

In this installment, the boys look at some albums by the great Sonny Rollins after the second and best-known of his several sabbaticals, when he spent hours honing his craft on the Williamsburg Bridge. (We talk about the iconic album named after that period on Episode 34.) Mike asks us to tackle these in reverse chronological order - tune in to see why. (How do you "tune" a podcast? You tell me.) Sonny Rollins - THE SOLO ALBUM, DON'T STOP THE CARNIVAL, EAST BROADWAY RUN DOWN, SONNY MEETS HAWK!

The great Sonny Rollins left this dimension on May 25, 2026, and the boys find it only fitting to devote two episodes to the jazz colossus. This first installment looks at four albums from the magical 1950s, when every album Sonny released was an event and even John Coltrane was just an up and coming challenger. Sonny Rollins: TENOR MADNESS!, VOLUME 2, NEWK'S TIME, SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS.

Back on Episode 247.5 Pat gave an overview of Creed Taylor's famous (infamous?) CTI label that bestrode the first half of the nineteen seventies like a jazz colossus. Now we've got both members of the 'cast weighing in on four of the label's better productions. So comb your sideburns (and your shag rugs) and settle in for a discussion of the best jazz-oriented baby-making label of the first half of the "me" decade. Milt Jackson – SUNFLOWER; Antonio Carlos Jobim – STONE FLOWER; Joe Farrell – OUTBACK; Airto – FREE.

We've done vocalists before, but never devoted an episode to the Chairman of the Board. Now we have, so that's off the bucket list. Listen as the boys discusses five of fantastic Mr. Frank's platters, and opine where newbies should get to know this cultural shibboleth. Frank Sinatra - SWING AND DANCE WITH FRANK SINATRA, IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS, CLOSE TO YOU, I REMEMBER TOMMY, FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA AND ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM.

A common canard about jazz is that the acoustic variety was unsaleable during the 1970s, and while there's a germ of truth in it, lots of exceptions prove that particular rule. This podcast looks at three releases from the early seventies and a little-known English gem from the late sixties. Two of the releases are tasty treats from Manfred Eicher's ECM label, though Mike has a more graphic way of putting it. Mike Taylor – TRIO; Bennie Maupin – JEWEL IN THE LOTUS; Catalyst – PERCEPTION; Paul Bley – OPEN TO LOVE.